TSA approves Registered Traveler program; five airports set for launch

US Transportation Security Administration last week gave approval for a Registered Traveler program that will allow passengers to submit voluntarily to a background check to get an "RT card" permitting expedited security clearance at select US airports. The program will be administered only by approved private-sector providers. The first such provider is Verified Identity Pass, which has been operating its Clear Registered Traveler program on a trial basis at Orlando International. It said ...

The US majors will not give up on their campaign against the Gulf carriers, which present the biggest-ever threat to the future of US airlines, the CEO of United Airlines said in a speech in New York Thursday....More

Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA) president Tim Canoll said the wider public has to be educated about the threat laser pointers pose to aircraft and help law enforcement catch people shining lasers into cockpits....More

US airlines, particularly regional carriers, have expressed hope that strict pilot training requirements implemented by FAA in 2013 will be eased in FAA reauthorization legislation expected to be taken up by Congress later this year, but there will likely be a strong push back against any efforts to change the rules....More